Tag: Jenni Holbrook

Monday Meditation: No Blog Is An Island

Posted on by Joy Held

A 2011 reflection for me includes a shout out of “thank you!” to the following cyber pals who made last year great for Writer Wellness.

 

Joanna Aislinn for hosting me as a guest blogger and always having interesting things on her blog that I like to read.

 

Miriam Allen for writing a great review of Writer Wellness.

 

Wendy Hines for writing a great review of Writer Wellness.

 

Paty Jager for writing a great review of Writer Wellness.

 

Kristin Lamb for her incredible non-stop blogging energy. I don’t know how she does it but her insight, humor, and support of WW are like treasures.

 

Natalie Markey for being another great reviewer of Writer Wellness and swapping guest posts with me.

 

Cat Masters for hosting me on her blog in 2011 with a very fun interview.

 

Bob Mayer for being a wizard with the vision to create Who Dares Wins Publishing and to believe that Writer Wellness was worth the second chance.

 

Linda Rettstatt for writing a great review of Writer Wellness.

 

Amy Shojai for being the most cheerful animal lover and blogging pal I have.

 

Jen Talty for ALWAYS being there no matter what. She’s amazing.

 

Beth Trissel for hosting Writer Wellness at her blog and getting an amazing number of hits that day!

 

Sandy Tritt for being my bestest buddy in the real world and the cyber village it takes to keep the Writer Wellness world afloat.

HUGS EVERYBODY AND HERE’S TO A GREAT NEW ERA IN WRITING, PUBLISHING, AND BEING.

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

 

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

 

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

 

http://amyshojai.com/ Amy Shojai

 

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

 

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well

Thursday Thot: Guest Jenni Talty

Posted on by Joy Held

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

http://amyshojai.com Amy Shojai

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well

Friday Feast: A Homeboy For Everyone

Posted on by Joy Held

“Eat Right 4 Your Type” is my homeboy. I’m using the term to mean “my closest friend,” and when I don’t pay attention to my food program (I don’t say “diet” because the first three letters spell “die” and I first heard this from exercise slash weight loss guru Richard Simmons,) I pay the price. My homeboy Eat Right explains clearly what my food choices should be. I must avoid a particular list of foods. I can eat from the highly beneficial, beneficial, and neutral lists to my heart’s content. It’s that simple. If I listen to my homeboy food counselor, there are no dietary or health issues to deal with. So why can’t I be faithful to the lists? Because I eat from the avoid list and create cravings and upset the apple cart and my digestive system.

Everywhere I turn there is a homeboy lurking it seems. Country music hunk Eric Church released his song “Homeboy” earlier this year to give fans (ME!) a tantalizing taste of his summer release album “Chief.” While “Homeboy”is a haunting song about finding a lost brother, only Eric Church (and songwriter Casey Beathart) could weave the word through a story/song/poem the way they have. It’s a great tune and the album builds on Church’s revamp style that brings Willie and Waylon to mind while listening to songs such as “Country Music Jesus” which cannot help but make your country gospel forehead drop forward and back over and over to the pounding rhythm. And Church lets out a warble or two or three and sounds exactly like the young, vocally strong Garth Brooks of yester-music. You won’t be disappointed in Church’s style and homage to homeboys and the black hat wearing bandits of country music (including Johnny Cash.)

And just when I think the word “homeboy” is a passing fad, my daughters receive key chains from a good friend engraved with “Arab Thunder is my homeboy.” And I know they are protected and watched over when I can’t be there (which is less and less as they gracefully mature.)

So a “homeboy” is what we need it to be and there when we need him to be. Kinda like an angel only with tattoos. Oh, well. Appearances are less and less the persona these days, and that forces us to look deeper to the true spirit of the homeboy so we can know what’s really inside.

Who’s your homeboy?

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing. They have a triple play sale going on now that includes Writer Wellness! Check it out before the deal is done.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

http://amyshojai.com/ Amy Shojai

My new website!

http://www.joyeheld.com

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well

Monday Meditation: Time and Herding Cats

Posted on by Joy Held

 

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

“Time management” is an oxymoron. We can’t possibly manage time. It does what it wants regardless of our efforts to wrangle it into submission. It marches on no matter what. Trying to manage time is frustrating because it’s a little like herding cats or nailing Jello (trademark) to a tree. Time has a mind and a mission of its own. Time cannot be told what to do and it cannot be beat into submission. But time rules the world and we will continue to know frustration until we develop a different relationship with time.

We can either work with time or we can compete against it. The competition idea is largely responsible for our feelings of frustration. “There is never enough time to get everything done,” we say out of habit. “I make lists, but there isn’t enough time to get it all done in a day.” While lists are a proactive method for dealing with our frustrations about not enough time, they too can cause us to “grrrrrr” at the end of the day’s allotted time when we realize how much of the list did not get accomplished.

Try feeling time instead. It’s a practice born of meditation’s ultimate lesson in patience. Begin by, and I hesitate to say it, setting a stop watch or timer when you practice meditation. Do not set the timer for ten minutes, close your eyes, and breathe until the timer goes off. With the timer at zero, first close your eyes, then push the button, and breathe. Meditate until the feeling arises that the session has come to an end. Open your eyes and see how long you have practiced. Regardless of how many minutes have passed, end the session. Do this daily and the time you meditate will gradually increase on its own in a natural way. Putting a time limit on your daily meditation practice is contradictory to the purpose. The purpose is to love your time here, not manage your time here. 

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com 

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous. 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer 

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc. 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey 

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well.

Thursday Thought: National Poem In Your Pocket Day

Posted on by Joy Held

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

 Even if you aren’t much of a poet yourself, you can take part in the very civilized and very literary National Poem In Your Pocket day today (April 14, 2011.) The promotions explain it this way:

 The idea is simple: Select a poem, pocket it, carry it, and share it with family, friends, and coworkers throughout the day.

 The Academy of American Poets sponsors this activity and have free poems to download just for your pocket.

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406

 Here’s what I’m carrying in my pocket today:

“To Save The Glen”

How soft the morning mist of Glens,

How quiet the raging, howling winds.

The Id repose to praise and thanks,

But all are not amiss these ranks.

La Sola rise to mark the start,

In trade and deed to show our smart.

September 11 steals the stage,

The Universe convulsed with rage.

A mighty clash of dark and light,

The former struck, the latter fight.

Visions and words impart the horror,

Innocence and peace denied the Moor.

Thy sheath is bared; they steed is clothed,

Our light is set to right the loath.

The Glen erupts, the light blaze bright

Now Heavens ROAR with rockets might.

So, Id must choose twix light and dark—

To save the Glen or lose our mark.

~George A. Gunter, Jr. (1933-2007)

 What poem will you share today?

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

 http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

Be well, write well.

Wednesday Workout: Yoga Is Accessible

Posted on by Joy Held

 

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

The physical component of yoga is called “hatha yoga.” The word “hatha” is Sanskrit for physical. There are essentially 24 basic poses in yoga and many, many variations on them thus creating hundreds of poses all together. There are also ways to modify the basic poses so anyone can participate in some level of hatha yoga. This is where yoga therapy comes into play. All yoga is therapeutic in a sense because of the breathing, stretching and mental practices, but the physical acts of the poses, also called asanas, can be changed up slightly to make them accessible to some persons with disabilities.

Disclaimer alert: this article is not meant to replace the guidance of your health care practitioner. Always consult such persons before engaging in activity to be sure your condition warrants participation in an organized exercise regime of any kind.

That said, besides talking with your doctor first, here are three books to give you an idea of what might be available to you.

Recovery Yoga, A Practical Guide for Chronically Ill, Injured, and Post-Operative People, Sam Dworkis, Three Rivers Press, New York, 1997. This book covers breathing and movements in a variety of positions. Once you have understood any limitations your doctor recommends, you can choose exercises done sitting, standing, lying down, and on the floor. Dworkis is an Iyengar trained yoga teacher and the B.K.S. Iyengar tradition of hatha yoga originated the practice of modifying yoga poses through the use of props such as chairs and bolsters. His program is called Extension Yoga.

http://www.extensionyoga.com/

Yoga As Medicine, The Yogic Prescription For Health and Healing, Timothy McCall, M.D., Bantam, New York, 2007. McCall is a doctor and a yoga practitioner and the medical consultant for Yoga Journal Magazine. It includes practice routines and advice on using yoga to help with several conditions such as back pain, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis.

http://www.drmccall.com/

Yoga for Movement Disorders, Rebuilding Strength, Balance and Flexibility for Parkinson’s Disease and Dystonia, Renee Le Verrier, BS, RYT, Merit Publishing International, Florida, 2009. The author of this book suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and practices what she preaches. Every pose is prop assisted and the system is explained very clearly. The photos are very clear and the poses are adaptable to more than Parkinson’s. Highly recommended.

http://meritpublishing.com/

My book Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity includes chapters on yoga for writers. Basic poses like Triangle are shown modified in Writer Wellness for use by persons other than writers. Best wishes to you for continued health through movement. Have you found an interesting way to keep physically active?

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

Be well, write well.

Wednesday Workout: I Don’t Like To Wear Shoes

Posted on by Joy Held

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

 

I’ve shared my thoughts recently about how important it is to practice yoga in bare feet. I really like to go without shoes.

But even though I don’t like wearing shoes, they are a safeguard against the many things that would invade the comfort and stability of our feet. Sometimes in spite of shoes we are accosted by invaders as when I stepped on a rusty nail in a board and it sent pain riveting through my body to my brain. Zowy! It was nothing compared to the tetanus shot, however. So, I buy and wear shoes with several things in mind. The most important job of my shoes is to completely and totally support my feet, particularly my arches. They are strong and high from years of ballet and yoga, so if my arches aren’t happy, no part of me is happy. I buy shoes sparingly and only if they are practical and supportive. 

I needed a new pair of tennis shoes (the style of shoe I wear the most) and I tried on shoes in two cities and five different stores over the last two weekends before settling on something I didn’t want to buy. Really. I never wanted to buy into the marketing hype that a pair of tennis shoes can tighten and tone your butt just by wearing AND walking in them. But I now own a pair of Reebok Simply Tone shoes in a size 6 ½. http://www.reebok.com/  Because they formed to my arches and didn’t push down on my big toes the first time I put them on in the store.

I love shoes for the protection, but I hate them for the imprisonment they impose on my feet and I also dislike how much shoes cost. The Simply Tones weren’t inexpensive, but more than I normally pay for a pair of tennis shoes. I’m a coupon hound and the shoes were on sale and between the two incentives they were close to what I consider reasonable expense for footwear. And I wore them for Saturday’s errands and housework. When I took them off at nine o’clock Saturday night to watch a basketball game on television, I realized I had worn them for ten hours straight. That’s a record for me. And the next day my feet felt alive, energized, and exercised. Thrilling. 

When our feet are happy, our whole system is happy. Bare feet are great, but put some serious time and thought into all your shoe purchases, especially the shoes you wear for exercise, and notice the subtle improvements in your overall wellbeing. Similar experiences with happy/unhappy feet? Do tell. 

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous. 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer 

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc. 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com Natalie Markey

Be well, write well.